Paragraph 175
German law criminalizing male homosexual acts from 1871 to 1994.
For nearly 123 years, from May 15, 1871, to March 11, 1994, a German law known as Paragraph 175 (or §175 StGB) made sex between men a crime. Early versions of the statute also covered bestiality, prostitution, and sex with minors. In total, roughly 140,000 men were convicted under it. The law was always controversial and actually sparked the first organized homosexual rights movement, which demanded its removal.
The law’s roots go back to earlier codes from the Holy Roman Empire and the Prussian states. It was revised several times. In 1935, the Nazis expanded it to cover any “lewd act,” even without physical contact—like two men masturbating near each other. This led to a tenfold increase in convictions, reaching over 8,000 per year by 1937. The Gestapo could also send suspected offenders to concentration camps without trial, even if they had been acquitted or had already served a jail sentence. More than 10,000 homosexual men were imprisoned in camps, identified by the pink triangle, and most died there.
After World War II, persecution continued. In 1945, some men freed from concentration camps were rearrested to finish their two-year sentences under Paragraph 175. East Germany initially retained the Nazi-era version of the law, then reformed it in 1950, but West Germany kept the Nazi-era version, which its Constitutional Court upheld. Between 1945 and 1969, about 100,000 men faced legal proceedings, and roughly 50,000 were convicted. Some accused men killed themselves. West Germany finally eased the law in 1969, decriminalizing sex between consenting adults aged 21 and over, though it still banned sex with men under 21, homosexual prostitution, and exploiting a dependent relationship. The age of consent was lowered to 18 in 1973. East Germany, which had already reformed its milder version in 1968, repealed the law entirely in 1988. West Germany followed suit in 1994, equalizing the age of consent at 16 for both homosexual and heterosexual acts (heterosexual acts had already had an age of consent of 16 since 1973).
The law’s origins trace back to older anti-sodomy measures. The Holy Roman Empire’s 1532 Constitutio Criminalis Carolina prescribed death by fire for sex between men or with animals. In 1794, Prussia’s Allgemeines Landrecht replaced the death penalty with imprisonment of six months to four years, plus loss of civil rights. Meanwhile, France’s
- repealed
- 11 March 1994
Lore & Background
Paragraph 175 was adopted in 1871 shortly after Germany was unified. Beginning in the 1890s, sexual reformers fought against the 'disgraceful paragraph,' winning support from August Bebel, head of the Social Democratic Party. A petition in the Reichstag to abolish it floundered in 1898. In 1907, a Reichstag Committee considered broadening the paragraph to cover lesbian acts, but debates about defining female sexuality caused the proposal to be abandoned. In 1929, another Reichstag Committee voted to repeal Paragraph 175 with support from the Social Democrats, Communist Party, and German Democratic Party, but the rise of the Nazi Party prevented implementation.
Reader's Guide
Paragraph 175 was a central tool in the persecution of homosexual men in Germany for over a century. The Nazis broadened the law in 1935, allowing prosecution for any 'lewd act' even without physical contact, leading to convictions multiplying tenfold to over 8,000 per year by 1937. Over 10,000 homosexual men were forced into concentration camps, identified by the pink triangle, and most died there. After World War II, West Germany retained the Nazi-era version of the law, confirmed by its Constitutional Court, while East Germany reverted to the pre-Nazi version. From 1945 to 1969, about 100,000 men were implicated in legal proceedings and about 50,000 convicted. The law was revised in West Germany in 1969, lowering the age of consent to 21, and again in 1973 to 18. East Germany ruled the law unconstitutional in 1987 and repealed it in 1989. Paragraph 175 was finally repealed in Germany in 1994, with the age of consent equalized at 16.
Did You Know?
- The Nazis broadened Paragraph 175 in 1935 to criminalize any 'lewd act' even without physical contact, such as masturbating next to each other.
- Over 10,000 homosexual men were forced into Nazi concentration camps under Paragraph 175, identified by the pink triangle.
- After World War II, West Germany retained the Nazi-era version of Paragraph 175, while East Germany reverted to the pre-Nazi version.
- Paragraph 175 was finally repealed in 1994, and the age of consent was lowered to 16, the same as for heterosexual acts.
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